Elderly man accidentally tried to get on Newark flight with ice pick in cane, report says

An elderly man nearly faced serious charges after unwittingly trying to get on a flight with a cane that hid an ice pick, the New York Post reports.

According to the report, the ice pick was found on security screens — but the 72-year-old man had recently been given the wooden cane as a gift, and had no idea the ice pick was hidden within, the report said.

The TSA and police stopped the man, en route to Georgia, but eventually determined he was telling the truth and had no intention to use the cane to hurt anyone, the report said. After he was released, Port Authority Officer Nicholas Duffy "chose to spread a little Christmas cheer — and fetched him a new cane from the airport’s lost and found," the report said.

The man was allowed to get on his flight, and his wife took the cane back home.